Leadership Crisis: How the Eagles’ Lack of Authority is Sabotaging Their Season

The Eagles have a crisis of leadership, and it is throwing them off their game.

From Mike Tomlin to Mike McCarthy, a team is a reflection of its coach.

Right now, the team lacks discipline, does things that are “over the line,” and is communicating poorly—just like their coach. Sirianni actually responded to taunts by fans in the stands behind him and taunted an ex-player after the game, when handshakes were in order. Whenever there is dissension in the ranks, he wallpapers it over with positive platitudes when communicating with the media, rather than acknowledging the problems.

He has no power or authority, and no matter what they say openly, I feel that the team does not respect him.

How else to explain defensive line coach Clint Hurtt openly blocking his path to Jalen Carter when the coach was finally trying to discipline him? And Hurtt suffered no consequences! Bill Belichick would have fired him on the spot. So there is no strong, steady hand that the team respects at the wheel of the ship. The team feels the ship listing, and it unsettles them.

When there is no respect for the coach, players can start to lose respect for each other. They can be wildly irresponsible, like Carter and Gardner-Johnson have been. Or like when Gardner-Johnson gave the double bird to Washington fans on his way out. It’s like when there’s a substitute teacher in seventh grade—the class goes wild because there is no authority, and the kids feel there will be no consequences.

A quarterback with strong leadership qualities might fill the vacuum. But Jalen Hurts’ leadership has come when he has exhibited superhuman performance. And when he is having a subpar season, it’s just not there. Even the president of a seventh-grade class goes a little wild when there is a substitute. And, incredibly, with this lack of respect and flaunting of the rules such a problem on his team, Hurts decides to wear different-colored shoes in violation of the league’s policy! Nike even enables Hurts by paying his fine, and then he does it again in the next game!

I fear that this season could end like the last one unless Fangio takes charge and gets senior team leadership to privately meet with the offending players, pointedly emphasizing to them what they owe to their teammates at this point in the season.

The situation demands a drastic course correction—only a leader willing to take charge can turn this ship around. If the team continues to act with such disregard for authority and discipline, the debacle will only deepen.